Improvement in propulsion of vessels



JOHN s. STITES;

lmprovemeht in Propulsion of Vessels.

' Patented June 20,1871.

AM. FIIDTDLITHOSFAPHIL [0. M K IOJIIOHNFS PROCESS] UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

JOHN S. STITES, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND VABRAHAM S. STONEBRAKER, OF SAME vPLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN PROPULSION OF VESSELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 116,236, dated June 20,1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN S. STITES, of Baltimore, in the county ofBaltimore and State of Maryland, have invented a new and ImprovedPropeller; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing making a part of this specification, in whieh-Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a vessel with my improvementattached, and Fig. 2 is a plan of the bottom of the same.

This invention relates to improvement in the class of propellers forvessels in which pistons working in cylinders are employed to effect thepropulsion of the vessel by acting against the water. The inventionconsists in the arran gement of the same in such relation to the vesselthat the operation whereby propulsion is effected shall tend also tolift or assist to buoy up the vessel.

Referring to the drawing, A is a vessel of any size or sort. a b are thecylinders aforesaid, the same being disposed in two series crosswise andmidway of the ship, there being as many cylinders in each series asdesired, those of one series being inclined backward and those of theother being inclined forward, all of said cylinders passing through theships bottom. 0 d are the pistons aforesaid that work within thecylinders, and are operated by steam or other power. The pistons c arethose through whose operation the vessel is driven forward, and thepistons dmove the vessel backward. The water rises within the cylinders,when allowed so to do, as high as it does outside the vessel, and theresistance it offers to the descent of the pistons is the cause of thevessels motion. The lower ends of the cylinders B extend some distancethrough the ships bottom, the object of this construction being to causethe column of water that flows before the piston out of each cylinder 1)to remain unbroken until the piston reaches the bottom of the cylinder,so that it may afford a resistance to the piston throughout the whole ofits stroke. Out-water e is secured to the vessels bottom in front of theprotruding parts of the cylinders. Although the extension of thecylinders below the bottom of the ship causes the expenditure of thepower of the pistons to be more economical than it otherwise would be,still this construction is objectionable, in that -it exposes the endsof the cylinders and the pistons to injury; and, inasmuch as thecylinders a are but little used in comparison with the cylinders '1),their lower ends are flush with the vessels bottom.

The arrangement of the cylinders in the cen ter of the vessel has theeffect of causing the propulsive stroke of the pistons to lift or buoyup the vessel at the momentit is making its swiftest forward or backwardmovement. If this were done at one end of the ship, for instance thestern, its speed would be somewhat retarded, since, in proportion as thesaid end would be raised, the other would be lowered in the water, andthereby meet more resistance.

In war-ships, particularly in those unprovided with armor, my invention'is especially valuable, since the means of propulsion, being in thecenter and bottom of the vessel, are entirely hid and protected fromharm. exteriorly.

, Another important advantage is obtained in that it is next to animpossibility for a vessel provided with piston-cylinders arrangedaccording to my invention to become fast on a sand-bar or other similarobstruction so as to require foreign aid to get her offthe more or lessviolent motion of the water beneath the vessel effecting a rapid removalof the earthy material, while every stroke of the pistons would lift, ortend to lift, the vessel off its bed.

I desire to be understood as laying no claim, broadly, to the method ofpropelling vessels by inclined cylinders and reciprocating pistons; but

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Inclined cylinders, provided with reciprocating pistons, arranged in thecentral portion of a vessel and passing through the bottom of the same,as herein shown and described, for the purposes specified.

Witnesess: JOHN S. STITES.

SoLoN G. KEMON, Tnos. D. D. OURAND.

